Talk

Scott and I spoke in church Sunday. We were pretty nervous. It is the first time that we have done anything in our new ward. I thought that I would share my talk with you. Here you go!

We have a Christmas tradition in our house where we draw names within the family and we open those gifts on Christmas Eve. This has been a treasured tradition. This year 6 of our 7 children were with us and so the Christmas Eve gift opening was especially fun. Our little granddaughter, Eve, had drawn my name and my gift was a small flat package which I assumed would be a picture of her or something she had drawn. When it was my turn, I carefully opened the package under the watchful eye of Eve, and if I would have been observant, almost everyone in the room. My gift was the first clue of a treasure hunt. I spent the next 10 or 15 minutes or so moving from one cleverly drawn clue to another until I finally found my gift hidden in a closet. What fun it was to hunt for treasure!!

Treasure, the very word thrills us! We think of something valuable and of great worth!

Looking for and amassing treasure has thrilled mankind for centuries. History and story books alike are full of stories of adventurers and buccaneers and pirates looking for treasure! This is how much of the world was discovered. Today, hunting for treasure is still an important pastime.

The scriptures also contain references to treasure. In Matthew 6:19 -20, the Savior tells us not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, but to lay up treasures in heaven. He goes on to say in verse 21 that “where our treasure is, there will our heart be also.”

As I pondered this scripture, the words, “LAY UP” caught my eye. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and grandma canning things. My Grandma called it laying up stores. Basically, they were storing food for the winter and the coming years. There would be rows of shiny jars filled with yummy things. My Mom had a room in our house that she called the fruit room. It was always full of jars filled with various things. When my parents sold their house a few years ago and the fruit room was emptied, there were jars of fruit that were dozens of years old. They had “layed up” way more than could ever be used.

When you think of earthly treasure, you usually think of money and things. It has been said that one of the disadvantages of earthy treasure is that you can’t take it with you. It is also said that Money can’t buy happiness. Money is also given unsavory names like, “filthy lucre.”

Earning money is vital to sustaining life here on this earth. Money is essential to provide the necessities of life.

In his 1974 Ensign article, “A Fortune to Share”, Elder Sterling W. Sill said, “Money is preserved labor, it is industry made negotiable. It is stored up accomplishment. It is the medium of exchange that we can trade for things that we can take with us and a great many of them we can actually send on ahead. We can take our families with us. We can take our education with us. We can take our great character qualities with us. And money is the medium that we can use to share the treasures of the earth with others who need our help.“

The key is how we use our money. Like my Mom’s fruit room……..are we laying up more earthly treasures that we need or could ever use?

The Savior talks about another kind of treasure in his Sermon on the Mount. He tells us to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.

Elder Sills told us of some of the things we can take with us, our Heavenly Treasures; our families, our education and our character qualities.

When I think about my Heavenly treasures, I think first of my family.

I would like to share a few of them with you.

Looking over the alter in the Idaho Falls Temple and seeing a worthy man who is covenanting to follow the Savior and return to our Heavenly Father and to help me and our children to get there too!

I think of tiny hands in mine and little bowed heads as we kneeled in family prayers.

I think about Priesthood circles as each of our children was blessed or baptized and as each of our sons received the Priesthood. I remember when the twins were blessed, standing in the circle were both of their grandfathers, all 5 of my brothers and several brother in laws, our Bishop and several men from the ward. The circle was so big, they couldn’t hold the baby with 1 hand, and they needed help! Then when Levi, our oldest son was ordained a Deacon a year and a half after we moved to AK, there was his Dad, our Bishop, the YM President and the Deacon Quorum advisor in the circle. Two different circles, but powerful treasures!!

I can still hear new readers struggle with the names as we read the Book of Mormon together and then hear those same voices declaring testimony of the truthfulness of the Book as they prepare to serve missions.

I will never forget leaving my sons at the MTC and watching them eagerly follow their fellow missionaries as I slowly left another way.

I treasure the moment of entering the Celestial Room in the Alaska Temple when our 3rd son was married and being greeted by my husband, our daughter and 3 of our sons.

And Grandchildren! You just have to treasure every little thing that they say and do!!

A couple of years ago when our daughter was visiting us in AK with the kids, our then 4 year old grandson, Isaac, came in while I was putting my make up on and he asked, “Grandma, what are you doing?” I answered that I was putting on my make up and he asked, “What’s make up for?” I then let him know that it was to make Grandma beautiful. He pondered that for a minute and then said, “It’s not working.”

Families are truly Heavenly treasures!!

Another way that we can lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven is by serving others. Acts of service need not be organized or dramatic. Many times it is the quiet, simple acts of service that have the most profound impact.

I was driving down the road thinking about this topic earlier this week when I was reminded of a time in my life when I was the recipient of simple acts of service and I knew that I needed to share that with you.

A little over 20 years ago, I was expecting our 5th child. The baby was due on Valentines Day and things were progressing normally. On December 3rd, almost 12 weeks before the baby was due, I awoke in the wee hours of the morning to discover that my water had broken and upon speaking to the Dr. we headed to the hospital. During a subsequent ultrasound it was discovered that I was expecting twins. I was life flighted from Pocatello Idaho to Salt Lake City. The hospital in Idaho could do everything for me that they could do in Utah, but the babies would have a better chance of survival in Utah because they had surfactant, a drug that was still experimental at that time and only a few hospitals in the country had access to it.

Scott was unable to come with me and so I went alone. You can imagine how hard it was to be going to a hospital hours away from my family. Shortly after my arrival at the U of U, my Bishop and his wife walked into the room. They had set out immediately upon receiving Scott’s call once they realized that he would be unable to drive down for a few days. I had been so worried and scared and having them with me did so much to calm my nerves.

Scott came a few days later bringing a huge poster from the Primary kids and a little Christmas tree for my room with ornaments that the kids had made to brighten up my room.

As you can imagine, I was pretty worried about Christmas for my kids. It was my habit to save my sewing and shopping to do during the Christmas season and so I was just getting started. I had decided to make quilts for the boys out of old Levi’s I had been saving for years and the days before my water broke I had cut up all the levis into blocks but these were sitting in piles by my sewing machine. Scott brought word that I need not worry about the quilts. My neighbor, Leslie, had come by and taken the blocks and she had already sewn them into quilts.

I was so lonely there day after day and so I talked to everyone who stepped into my room. The guy who was fitting my room with blinds was probably glad to get done, as I am sure that I talked his ear off! I was on a first name basis with the woman who cleaned and knew about her problems with her teenage daughter. One day a young candy striper stopped by my room and told me that I had received some mail. I couldn’t believe it. I was in the hospital. Sure enough there was a card for me from Sister Stauffer. That really made my day! I got mail!! She let me know that she was praying for me and the babies and that I didn’t need to worry about a thing at home. What a Heavenly treasure Sis. Stauffer laid up for herself that day!

I remember one evening after I had been there a couple of weeks that I could hear some commotion down the hall. As I listened, I realized that it was caroling. I had been caroling dozens of times in my life, but had never realized the joy it could bring to a lonely soul. I listened as the singers came closer and yet the sound began to fade before they came to my door. Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes and I longed to jump up and call to them to come back, but I was stuck in my bed and wasn’t allowed to walk. Just then a head poked into my room and upon seeing that I was awake, he motioned for his group to come back as they had missed my room.

What simple acts of service, but what powerful treasures!!

There are many other ways that we can lay up for ourselves Heavenly Treasures. Studying and pondering the Scriptures, accepting callings and truly doing our best to magnify them, Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching and sharing our Testimonies with our friends and neighbors are just a few of the most obvious.

Just like my Christmas gift from Eve, we have been given a treasure map to use here on this earth. It is the Gospel. As we follow each clue and progress step by step – Precept upon precept, we will be laying up for ourselves Heavenly Treasures and our hearts will be focused on the things of Eternity.

Brothers and Sisters, I know that we are children of a Heavenly Father who loves us and who wants us to return to Him and who is waiting with Mansions that He has prepared for us where we can store all of those Heavenly treasures that we have laid up here on this earth.

And I say this is the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.